Windows Dev Center: Redesigned across the board

John Osborne here. Welcome to our series of posts about updates to the Windows Dev Center. While we’re still a few days away from rolling out Windows 8.1 Preview to developers at the //Build conference in San Francisco, the Windows Dev Center already has a new layout and new information to make it easier to develop Windows apps.

Here’s how the new Dev Center helps speed up your app development:

· Focus on the app development lifecycle: Get Started > Design > Develop > Market.

· Designers and businesses get added support for planning and selling apps. You don’t have to be a developer to use the Dev Center. Planning and design are critical parts of making an app, and we recognize that with our emphasis on how to Plan your app, and the tour of our Design Principles. There’s also a whole section to help you take your app to market, with information on the app submission process and how to promote your app.

If your goal is to make a desktop app, device driver, or web app optimized for Internet Explorer, you’ll find new help in those areas too:

· Desktop apps: Make a high-performance game with Direct3D, or learn how to reach a global market through the Windows Store with the help of the compatibility cookbook